EDUCATION + SCHOOLS

Feasibility study finds Orem School District would be financially viable and stable

OREM, Utah — The results of a comprehensive feasibility study, released Tuesday to Orem City leaders, found that Orem School District would be financially stable and viable.

The results were released to Orem City Mayor David Young and the Orem City Council. Additionally, the study also examined eight areas concerning the potential new school district. Those areas include: student enrollment and local representation, student test scores, Title I concerns, the pay and benefits of teachers. class sizes, the future growth of the school district and seismic safety issues that are unresolved.

Orem feasibility study

“We care about and want the very best for our students, teachers and taxpayers,” Young said in a news release. “That is why we are conducting the most comprehensive school feasibility study to date to determine what is in the best interest of Orem.”  

According to a news release, there are four scenarios that were discovered in the feasibility study.

• If the $595 million bond proposed by the Alpine School District passes and the school district is not created, a 12.8% property tax increase would be felt by all taxpayers living in the Alpine School District.
• If the $595 million bond does not pass, and Orem still creates a new school district, residents of Orem could see a 3.5% increase in property taxes. A 5.3 % decrease in property taxes would go to those living elsewhere in the Alpine School District boundaries.
• Orem residents could see a 3.5% increase in property taxes if both the bond passes and the new school district is created. Residents in the remaining part of district boundaries could see a 10.6% increase in property taxes.
• Property taxes in Orem could increase by 17.3 % if Orem separates itself from Alpine School District, and the district bonds for $595 million, and the new district bonds for $125 million (roughly the amount Orem will need to deal with seismic issues.

Public meetings to discuss the matter will be held July 13, July 19 and July 28. The meetings will be held at Library Hall in the Orem City Center.

The Orem City Council is expected to vote on August 2 whether the matter should be placed on the ballot in the general election in November. 

To view the entire feasibility study, click here. 

Read more:

• Salt Lake City School District to conduct feasibility study on 2 high schools
• State says Orem did nothing wrong in hiring process for school feasibility study

Follow @MarkJonesKSL